Kamala Harris’ campaign team’s decision to doctor headlines on Google that tout the Democratic presidential candidate has sparked “significant ethical concern” over possibly “misleading” the public, media analysts told The Post on Wednesday.
The vice president’s team launched the sponsored posts on the search giant that linked to real news stories from various unsuspecting publishers such as CNN, USA Today, The Guardian and the Associated Press — but featured headlines and descriptions that were edited by her team.
Google called the practice “common” and said the ads did not violate its policies because they were clearly labeled as “sponsored.”
However, Rich Hanley, Quinnipiac University associate professor of journalism emeritus, called the marketing move “troubling” and “exploitative.”
“I think it’s hitting a line, and candidly I don’t think Google or the Harris campaign should go near a line that is tied to news sources,” Hanley said.
Hanley, who teaches a class in disinformation, said the Harris campaign is “exploiting a vulnerability in the information ecosystem” which is dangerous in this “climate of disinformation and misinformation.”
“When you are a campaign trying to gain the trust of the public why would you do something that undermines it?” Hanley said.
He added that even if Google says this is common and adheres to standards of labeling the paid post as “sponsored,” this case is “misleading.”
“What they are actually doing is manipulating someone else’s content by changing headlines,” he said. “There should be a clear and bright line when it comes to news organizations.”
Colin Campbell, associate professor of marketing at the University of San Diego, also said the ads touting Harris raised red flags.
“This is a significant ethical concern,” he said. “The big issue is that Google lets advertisers edit the headlines. Users can misconstrue the meaning of the articles.”
The altered headlines — appearing on Google ads and paired with a “Paid for by Harris for President” banner — were changed without the news outlets’ knowledge, Axios first reported Tuesday.
For instance, one sponsored ad that links to NPR’s website features the headline “Harris will Lower Health Costs” while another that links to the Associated Press reads “VP Harris’s Economic Vision – Lower Costs and Higher Wages.”
Some of the outlets called out the Harris campaign Wednesday, seeking some sort of action.
“We have reached out to the Harris campaign requesting they represent our content in a manner that accurately upholds USA Today’s unbiased reporting and complies with our ethical standards,” Gannett media chief content officer Kristin Roberts posted on X.
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The Harris campaign did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Both Hanley and Campbell said media outlets should continue to push back on Google and the Harris campaign as their journalistic brands are being harmed.
“These ads can change people’s perceptions,” said Campbell. “It is reasonable that Google would have some ethical responsibility here.”
